Harvest Party

Today, we went to a church sponsored harvest party at a member's farm. We had great fun! We had pot-luck lunch in the barn, horseback riding, a hayride and a candy toss.

Both of the kids got to ride on the horse. They thought that was the greatest thing!!! Our daughter got to ride on the horse by herself with Daddy walking beside her. She was so proud sitting up there all by herself. She looked so-o-o little up on that big old horse!

I rode with our son in the saddle with me. He LOVED it! Every time we would make our way around the arena and come close to the gate were others waited, he would frantically sign, "more!" Most of the people watching interpreted his signing as clapping and thought that he kept clapping his hands with glee. Although that wasn't what he meant, he was indeed a happy boy!

The hayride was fun, too. Daddy and daughter got to get up into the cab of the tractor and drive the hayride for a while. It was like a dream come true for our daughter. She loves vehicles...cars, trains, construction trucks, tractors, etc. So, to be able to drive one was an amazing experience for her!

So, what did I learn? Believe it or not, I had never heard of a candy toss. They made the assumption that everyone knew what it was. I did not. As we were gathered around waiting for the candy toss to start, I realized that they were almost ready to begin and there were no instructions going to be given. I quickly asked someone nearby to explain and she briefly did. It turns out that a candy toss is just that. People toss candy down on you and you scoop it up and keep what you gather. The kids loved it. I was a nervous wreck. Lollipop sticks flying at my kiddos and big kids diving for candy had my heart pumping. Fortunately, the kids eyes were averted downward looking for candy on the ground avoiding the flying lollipop sticks. And, the big kids were kept in check by vigilant adults. We had quite a bag of loot to take home with us.

The little guy fell asleep while we were driving home, so his big sister suggested that we take a drive down to the beach so he could sleep longer. We agreed and took a detour. Daddy and the sleeping beauty stayed in the car while the two of us took a walk down by the water. When I told her it was too cold to get in, she wanted to take her notebook and fuzzy, purple, feather pen with her.

After exploring a bit and picking out some rocks to take home, she plopped herself down in the sand and started writing. She drew everything that she had seen...

She wrote about the waves and the sailboat that sailed by and the tiny hole that she discovered in the sand. Beauty through her eyes... a joy to me!